1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to providing a means within a computer system for receiving a user password and, more particularly, for providing a system-generated keyboard graphic through which a such a password is entered when it is needed.
2. Background Art
Passwords are often used to prevent surreptitious use of a personal computing system. Operation of such a system for number of different purposes may be prevented until a previously determined password has been supplied by the user. For example, during a system initialization process, before the operating system is booted, a power-on password may be required. Then, after providing the power-on password, and after an operating system, such as Windows 9x, Windows ME, or Windows 2000, is loaded, the user is required to provide an operating system password before proceeding. Then, if user inputs are not made to the system within a predetermined time period, a screen saver routine is started, requiring the user to input a screen saver password before continuing to use the computer.
Screen saver routines were originally developed to provide moving images to be displayed on the screen of a computer not being actively used, so that a static image could not be burned into the phosphorus coating of the cathode ray tube in a display of a computer which had been left on with the same image being displayed for an extended period of time. More recent improvements in the art of building computer displays have made this use of screen saver routines generally unnecessary, as a static image remaining on the screen for a long time is still not burned into the phosphorus.
Nevertheless, screen saver routines are very popular, being used to provide attractive images when a computer is not being actively used. Modern screen savers also provide a security function in the form of a password, which can optionally be set by the computer user to prevent, or at least discourage, unauthorized use of the computer and its stored data. For example, if a password function has been set in a conventional computing system, running a conventional operating system, such as Windows 9x or Windows 2000, and displaying a screen saver, a password must be entered by a potential system user before the operating system moves on to allow access to computer functions and data. Under these conditions, when a potential user provides an input to the system by depressing a key on the keyboard or by moving a pointing device, such as a mouse, the system displays an instruction to enter the password. The predetermined password is then entered by means of the keyboard.
After the password has been entered correctly, the operating system proceeds to display a screen from which the user can proceed to use the system. The nature of this screen typically depends on what was occurring before the screen saver routine was started. For example, the screen saver routine can be set to start when the system enters a suspense mode following a predetermined elapsed time without an input through the keyboard or pointing device. If the screen saver routine has been started in this way, the system returns to the program being executed before the suspense mode was entered. While alphanumeric data is generally entered into a computing system by the system user through the system keyboard, such data may also be entered using a touch-sensitive display. For example, Japanese Patent Application No, 62-276617 describes a touch-sensitive display screen having a thin, transparent overlay with a printed keybutton pattern attached to an outer screen surface, with the overlay being used to locate positions used as input keys in entering a password. What is needed is a keyboard or keypad graphic which is displayed only when it is needed, so that the entire display screen can be used for other purposes when this particular graphic is not needed.
Several patents describe a computer in which entry of data from an area provided on a display, touchscreen, or the like is facilitated by the provision of a “soft keyboard.” For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,784,060 describes such a computer, in which the data entry area is defined, by the cooperation of a control program and a processor, to have a central zone in which data entry keys are displayed, and peripheral zones, in which function keys and a list of entry options are displayed. A user can change the keyboard into any desired one of a variety of configurations. U.S. Pat. No. 5,805,157 describes such a computer having keys programmable as hexagonal cells, which enable the display of larger areas for engagement by the finger or other input pointer. The user is permitted a choice between hexagonal and rectangular cells. U.S. Pat. No. 5,818,451 describes such a computer in which misentry of data is avoided by providing for the adjustment of the input by raising the entry of input by providing for the adjustment of the input by a fixed percentage of the size of the target soft key. U.S. Pat. No. 5,801,941 describes such a computer in which misentry of data is avoided by providing for the calculation of an offset as may be required by the entry habits of a user which target areas of a defined key cell spaced from the center of the cell.